The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for managing resources, and particularly, to systems and methods for managing bed assignments in a healthcare facility.
Beds used in a healthcare environment have capabilities that address healthcare needs and/or medical conditions of a patient. However, pairing patients with suitable beds requires an intimate understanding of the capabilities of each bed, as well as, how such capabilities relate to healthcare needs and conditions of patients. Given the large number of bed models available to hospitals and given many bed models have a large number of optional capabilities, determining exactly which bed is “best” or a “good fit” for a given patient's needs can be a daunting task.
To make matters even more difficult, pairing of patients with beds is also dependent upon bed availability. A caregiver may prefer to assign a bed of first class to a patient due to the patient having a particular healthcare need. All beds of the first class, however, may be currently occupied or otherwise unavailable. An available bed of a second class may have similar attributes to beds of the first class and thus be suitable for the patient. Unless the caregiver is aware of the interchangeability of the beds in these two bed classes in regard to the healthcare need of the patient, the caregiver may assign a less suitable bed of a different class to the patient and/or needlessly rent another bed of the first bed class from a third party distributor in order to accommodate the healthcare need of the patient.